procedure for back up/restore- sending Powerbook to Apple for repair
 

Hi- I have to send my Powerbook to Apple for repair and so I'm going to backup my drive and install a fresh copy of Tiger before shipping it. I have too much sensitive info on my machine to let my drive go to them.

I'd like to use the backup (boot from it on another machine- an eMac, not a Powerbook) while my PB is gone and then restore it in its current state when the PB returns.

Will this work? Using my backup as a boot drive on another machine while my powerbook is gone and then clone it back to my powerbook?

thanks!

Should work fine, but -- of course -- test your plan before sending it in! :)

I did that when my G5 iMac was out at Apple getting a new power supply -- I used my backup drive to boot up my old G4/867, ran from it and later on used the backup drive to bring the iMac back up to date when I got it back. Works fine.

Thanks- Good to know that it should work! I'm trying to test my backup now, good reminder to make sure it works before rushing off!!

Of course, if the PB is an Intel Mac, there's a good chance it won't work properly

(Indeed, but I assumed that -- since he used the term Powerbook rather than MacBook or MacBook Pro -- both Macs are PPC based.)

Yes, it's a G4 Powerbook.

I've tested the system and it works, I'm now just waiting until after the New Year to bring it to the Apple Store so I don't lose any repair days due to holidays!

Thanks again!

Good luck, SupaFuzz -- and happy new year.

Just wanted to come back and report that thanks to SuperDuper!, everything worked perfectly. I worked away on my cloned drive on the eMac and then when the PowerBook returned, I cloned it back to the internal drive and everything was just great.

I'd also like to say that for the second time, Apple has amazed me with their recall repair service. This is the second Apple laptop (first was an iBook) that has fallen victim to an issue that Apple has a recall out for. Both times the repair time amazed me. I turned in my Powerbook to an Apple Store at noon on Tuesday and it was returned to me at noon on Thursday- after being fixed in Houston Texas on Wednesday.

Thanks for your help here and again mucho thanks to SuperDuper!